Guilty to death
Bookworm on Sep 20 2006 at 10:00 am | Filed under: Muslim violence, Political correctness
The best book for illuminating what’s going on in the Muslim “street” isn’t some weighty treatise on Islam; it’s a short little tract called “White Guilt” by Shelby Steele. The book isn’t even about Islam. Steele focuses on white liberals and the black radicals who’ve been gaming them ever since the 1960s. Whites, he argues, have internalized their own demonization. Deep down they fear that maybe they are imperialistic, racist bastards, and they are desperate to prove otherwise. In America, black radicals figured this out a while ago and have been dunning liberal whites ever since.
The West is caught in a similarly dysfunctional cycle of extortion and intimidation with Islam, but on a grander and far more violent scale. Whether it’s the pope’s comments or some Danish cartoons, self-appointed spokesmen for the Islamic street say, “You have offended a billion Muslims,” which really means, “There are so many of us, you should watch out.” And if you didn’t get the message, just look around for the burning embassies and murdered infidels. They’re not hard to find.
In response, the West apologizes and apologizes. Radical Muslims, who are not stupid, take note and become emboldened by these displays of weakness and capitulation. And the next time, they demand two pounds of flesh. Meanwhile, the entire global conversation starts from the assumption that the West is doing something wrong by tolerating freedom of speech, among other things.
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4 Responses to “Guilty to death”
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Know thy enemy and you will be able to annihilate him, to paraphrase Sun Tzu. Technically, I think he meant that if you knew your enemy, you could know how you could personally get into a position of strength to win.
http://bookwormroom.wordpress.com/2006/09/20/pro-israel-rally-at-the-un/#comment-11350
Jg posted a very relevant link over there, concerning the subject of this post.
I’m curious concerning your reactions to the atlasshrugged article and blackfive’s article on the Virtues of Killing children. Do you think their reasoning is correct? Do you recognize the necessity, but don’t like it. Or do you think there is another, alternative path, bookworm?
This guilt topic, this theme, is pervasive. From “we must have clean hands” to “we must have the moral high ground” to “we can’t even appear to be torturing by McCain”. It has an effect on the war, don’t you think?
Oh ya, when I read your title, I’m thinking “Guilty unto death”, no matter what the good guys do, the enemy will keep slaughtering our people and pronouncing them guilty. Guilty onto death and beyond, even. Perhaps it would be a good idea to judge them as harshly as they have judged us. Judge not lest ye be judged, it seems.
http://victordavishanson.pajamasmedia.com/2006/09/16/a_depressing_age.php
VDH has a stark analysis of the times. He doesn’t mention guilt, but he does mention the fear people have. I think guilt and fear are mixed together in this. Just like the Nazi camp guard you wrote about. Guilt and Fear produce a very interesting mix, and a very powerful one as well.
Re: Steele’s book (which I believe theorizes correctly regarding white guilt):
“I’ve never owned a slave. I’ve never been a slave. I didn’t wander forty years in the desert after being chased out of Egypt. I haven’t burned any witches, nor have I ever been persecuted in a Turkish prison - and neither have you, so shut the f*** up about it.”
- George Carlin